The “Skinny” on LONG ISLAND

         We eyeballed our way through scattered coral heads and anchored off of a long, lovely stretch of soft buff-colored sand in CALABASH BAY, LONG ISLAND.  As many of our stops have been, this was another recommended area to suit our deep keeled-boat.  The Santa Maria Beach Resort is located there and, thank goodness, was classy enough to not host all sorts of daytrip venues.  Two or three cruising vessels came and went almost daily, but the bay is so expansive that it still offered much privacy and ultimate relaxation.
        
        Long Island is another narrow ribbon of land that is approximately eighty miles long.  Like all islands here, it lacks much elevation, but you can usually see both the east and west coasts from a ridge.  So after walking the local dirt roads to view what little there was in the vicinity, we rented a car for a day to undertake a self-guided tour.  As soon as our rental hit the dirt road, it began to rattle loudly, sounding like something was going to fall off its bottom.  We pressed on toward The Columbus Monument, our first stop, which took us along a rough path through thick brush that often scraped the side of the car.  We had to drive so slowly that we may have gotten there faster if we had walked.  Once there, though, the views from the rugged northern coast of Long Island made it well worth it.

The Columbus Monument

     

Sweet corn grown near house to conserve water.

                                                   Long Island has been experiencing a drought this season and as we drove southward (now on paved roads)the ill effects were readily apparent.  Much of the landscape was withered and any garden areas looked rather bleak.  We kept looking for fresh produce stands mentioned by cruisers, but found none.  In addition to the lack of sufficient rainfall, the island also was hit badly by Hurricane Joachim last November and much of the destruction remains in place.  We noticed many roof repairs underway as we proceeded.  At the gas station in SALT POND, a local told us that Joachim loomed over them for thirty-six hours and when they thought the hurricane was leaving, it swung back over the island again.  The force was so powerful that it lifted a large fiberglass resort pool out of the ground and deposited it about one-quarter of a mile down the coast.  It is no doubt that Joachim will long be remembered.

Sts. Peter & Paul's Church built by Fr. Jerome.

          Finding an ATM was not easy on Long Island as we learned the the nearest one to our anchorage had been closed during the past year.  So we drove on through countless small settlements with the car now occasionally squeaking loudly.  CLARENCETOWN was to be our southernmost stop because we wished to check out the anchorage for future use and for provisioning there.  The folks at the marina informed us that Joachim blew away the groceries and a number of other businesses, so after a tasty lunch, we began our return drive northward.

         
             DEAN’S BLUE HOLE, the world’s deepest blue hole at 406 feet below sea level, is on the island’s eastern coast just north of Clarencetown. We spent time there swimming, walking the seldom visited beach, and climbing the rocky remote coast. The annual Free Dive Competition is held in late May and the platforms seen in the photo (that I think detract from its beauty) are used for this event. 

Cape Santa Maria Beach

           Being that there were no groceries to be had in Clarencetown, it was necessary for us to stop and shop in several different towns on our way back to Calabash Bay in order to find almost everything on our list.  The last grocery we found was in Salt Pond.  Had it been our first stop, it would have been our only stop as it had EVERYTHING and MORE!

As Far NORTH As We’re Gonna Go

Google image

         If the Captain has his way, the latitude of 24°37.05’ N is as far north as Exit Strategy is ever going to go.  On a chart of the Bahamaian Islands, HALF MOON BAY, LITTLE SAN SALVADOR and ARTHURS TOWN, CAT ISLAND roughly lie at this latitude.
      
         We had read that Little San Salvador– just five miles long and surrounded by a maze of coral heads and reefs- was owned by Holland America and served as a cruise ship stop.  But we hadn’t seen a single ship since arriving in the Bahamas so we expected there’d be a lull in visitors at this small island.  We were very WRONG.  On our first day in Half Moon Bay, we were the only vessel in sight, but early the next day, and the next day, and… then Dan googled the cruise ship schedule.  Ships would be in the bay six out of seven days a week!  Again, we don’t begrudge anyone of the way they make their living, so we watched the bay bubble with activity between 9 am - 4:30 pm and were happy to be left alone each night.  One day we dinghied around the northwestern point of the island and enjoyed an untouched, long stretch of beach.   

Rake 'N Scrape music is quite lively and played using
 saws, drums, and a concertina accordian.

         Nevertheless, the next morning the winds were in our favor and we headed toward the northern part of Cat Island to Arthurs Town.  There we found ourselves alone in the bay day and night.  When we walked ashore the locals knew we were the people from “de boat” and were friendly and helpful.  Arthurs Town is a welcoming place where the people not only recommend a good place (in this case, the only place) to eat dinner, but also call someone to take you there at no charge.  We had a delicious mahi mahi dinner at De Smoke Pot Restaurant and when the owner learned that we had never heard Bahamian RAKE ‘N SCRAPE music, he rallied a few men to perform for us after dinner. 
          Cat Island, the birthplace of the actor Sidney Poitier, is about sixty miles long and not more that a mile wide at most points. So a few days later we moved southward along the coast to NEW BIGHT.  Once more, we stood out as “de people from de boat” for a couple of days until a few motor yachts stopped there to wait for better weather.  There were more businesses around New Bight, such as a place to get propane refills, fuel, and groceries, although we still had to let the ladies at the Blue Bird Restaurant know we were coming to make sure they’d have food.
          A main attraction at New Bight is Fr. Jerome’s Hermitage that he built on the highest peak of the entire Bahamas at 206 feet above sea level.  Fr. Jerome studied architecture before becoming a Jesuit priest and was sent to the Bahamas from England in 1908 to save souls and build churches that could better withstand hurricanes.  His churches, built for all denominations, have held up well and still grace many of the islands.

Fr. Jerome's Hermitage

Stations of the Cross

                 
      On our last evening in New Bight, we met and talked at length with a kindly old gent who filled us in on more Bahamian history.  The islands were first inhabited by the Lucayans which Columbus noted in his log of 1492 when he claimed the islands for Spain.  The Lucayan population dwindled quickly as they were exposed to diseases brought by the “white man“ (Spanish).  Then in 1648, the first English settlers came seeking religious freedom.  And finally in 1776,  a great  influx of Loyalists occured after England lost the War for Independence in the New World.  The inhabitants of today are either descendents of the Loyalists or “Fat Cats” from the USA and Europe.
                               We thoroughly enjoyed the beauty of Cat Island’s shores and its people.

EXUMA CAYS LAND & SEA PARK

 

       Exit Strategy entered the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park (ECLSP) through WARDERICK CUT one sunny afternoon.  Mooring fields are situated at all the popular spots for exploration within the park, one being right at Warderick Cut. To use a mooring, one must contact the park via radio the day before you intend to arrive and be put on a waiting list.  Then the next morning at 9am the park assigns moorings via radio broadcast.  So if you are close enough to transmit and hear the daily park net, it is a simple, efficient system.  However, if you're not within VHF range, then you need to proceed to an approved anchorage. Prior to our arrival we were not within radio range, so we proceeded to one of the few places where anchoring is allowed, namely EMERALD ROCK.  The safe and suitable route  to Emerald Rock was yet another case of "you can't get there from here" easily due to a massive shoal area on the Exuma Bank.  By way of crow, the distance from Warderick Cut to Emerald Rock is about 1.5 nm, but the course we had to carefully motor was about 5 nm. 

 

                                       

       The ECLSP offers a collection of beautiful sites to snorkel, as well as many well-maintained trails to hike.  While we visited, the weather was more conducive to land activities, so we plodded through a number of trails on WARDERICK WELLS CAY and took in some beach time.   The Bahamas are coral atolls, so the trails oscillated from being soft sand to being hard, rough coral rock. Nothing substantial can grow on this type of terrain and finding a little shade ashore was a problem.  



 

 

       At the top of Boo Boo -as in GHOST- Hill. Boo Boo Hill on Warderick Wells Cay is so named because a ship wrecked near it off the Atlantic coast of the ECLSP.  It is said that you can still hear the cries of the crew at night if you are on the hilltop.   (Note the boats in mooring field over my shoulder.)

 

Vessel monument on ridge by Boo Boo Hill



       This impressive Humpback Whale skeleton is on beach near the ECLSP Office.  It was salvaged in the 1990's from Highbourn Cay- Exuma after the whale beached himself.  They believe the whale may have been confused by sonar signals being  emitted by a US Navy vessel who was conducting tests in the vicinity.

 

We hiked many trails since the current was too
 strong on many days to snorkel safely.

 

       On days when the weather was calmer and the current was not as strong, we snorkeled a couple of sites.  The area around Emerald Rock was disappointing at best.  Two dinghy moorings were available there, but after swimming over and around the first spot, we decided to skip the second. So far, we have been somewhat disenchanted by snorkeling in the Bahamas.  The coral heads strewn throughout the Exuma Bank waters are often small with a distance between.  Also,  swimming has been difficult because there often exits a forceful current.

 

Vivid corals in cut at Hog Cay.

One morning while hiking to the top of the ridge, we caught a glimpse of a completely empty and visually inviting mooring field (of 5) in the ECLSP by HOG CAY.  We were giddy with delight- if you can imagine that- and radioed the park office to make a reservation for the next day.  Spending the night there along the Atlantic coast would also serve us as a great jumping off point to sail to our next destination.  At 9am the next day we got our mooring assignment and began our 5 nm. trip out of the Emerald Rock anchorage.

        Upon entering the mooring area at Hog Cay we found one huge motor yacht on a mooring.  We carried on toward our assigned ball and saw another even larger motor yacht power towards OUR ASSIGNED MOORING and pick it up!  Words and a few hand signals were exchanged and then we took the next ball past them.  Danny radioed the park office who immediately sent two ranger boats to take charge of the matter.  What we didn't fully realize was that the ball we were assigned was the ONLY one on which we wouldn't go aground at MLW.  The yacht apologetically released our ball and we picked it up. 

        Shortly afterward, another motor yacht- this one SUPERSIZED- picked up the mooring next to us.  Then the "circus" really began.  A 40' transport vessel pulled up to the shore and unloaded SUPs, kayaks, jet skis, umbrellas, coolers, etc...  There were about 20 guests, aged maybe 18-24, on the mega yacht perhaps doing Spring Break on Daddy's Gold Card.

         We were no longer giddy with delight.



Going with the Flow



On our way to BLACK POINT SETTLEMENT- GREAT GUANA CAY, the sailing conditions were finally amenable to troll for dinner.  I am always the first one to select a lure and put out the pole and this day was no different.  Exit Strategy was moving along quite comfortably with a speed that ranged between six to seven knots.  ZZZZINNNG!  We got a hit!  Although I was closest to the rod mounted on the portside rail, I insisted that Captain Dan reel in our catch.  I did this because I had been on a losing streak since arriving in the Bahamas in late February.  I can only surmise that the game are feistier up here because I'd been unable to land the last four out of four fish we hooked.  Danny gladly took the rod in his strong arms and kept the line taut, eventually hauling in a beautiful yellow fin tuna.

 

 

This yellow fin tuna weighed 15 lbs. after being gutted and bled.







Within a few hours, we maneuvered through DOTHAM CUT and dropped the hook at Black Point Settlement.  The wind howled almost constantly at 25 knots, gusting to 30 during our entire stay.  We went ashore a few times to amble along the worn roads and see what the island was like.  Black Point Settlement is the kind of place where it is not unusual to select your own chicken parts after the grocer gives you a twenty pound frozen mass of chicken legs to take outside, so you can drop it onto the cement and bag your selection.  It is the kind of place where the islanders give you free fruit from the few producing trees they have.  Black Point Settlement is the kind of place where everyone greets you warmly and then some- like the retired police chief- invite you into his home to hear about his career and view his medals. 

This was the first time we were able to see some examples of "pothole" gardening that we had previously read about in the guidebooks.  After that experience, we began to notice these potholes all over the place on every cay we visited.  There seemed to be a great deal of half finished or abandoned building sites down every path at Black Point. It concerned us when we often found these potholes (without a garden) smack in the middle of a building's foundation. How safe is that?! 

 

Pothole gardening

There really wasn't much to keep us at Black Point Settlement, so as soon as the weather improved we continued on to STANIEL CAY.  Does that name ring a bell for you?   Staniel Cay is known to tourists for its swimming PIGS, although the pigs are actually located on the nearby cay called BIG MAJORS SPOT.  It appears that  the pigs are one of the biggest attractions in this area of the Bahamas.  However, swimming pigs were NOT on our list of things to see.  In fact, Staniel Cay wasn't even on our float plan until the starter battery on Exit Strategy began to show signs of imminent death.  The folks in Black Point Settlement assured us that we could get a new battery quicker in Staniel Cay because there was a marina there. Lucky for us- they were right.

 

How many conch can YOU find?  (There are about 20 live ones in photo.)



Bahamian houses in the Exumas were colorful and usually 2-story.

 

Staniel Cay is ten times more touristy than Black Point Settlement largely due to the swimming pigs, the marina, and THUNDERBALL GROTTO.  The James Bond movie, THUNDERBALL, was partially filmed here in 1965 and literally put Staniel Cay on the map.  Since we were "in the neighborhood" we decided to take in the site one afternoon. We could see daytripper boats coming and going to the grotto from our anchorage and tried to time our sortie to avoid the crowd, but that didn't work.  We enjoyed a brief moment alone inside the grotto and then swam out through an alternate underwater tunnel when a large group entered the main opening.  A short time later, we swam back inside and noticed a lion fish, whose spines are highly toxic, slowly swimming beneath the finned feet of people.  That looked like an accident waiting to happen to us.



We had just swam out of a tunnel to escape the Thunderball Grotto tourists.



Coral wall at main entrance to the grotto.



LION FISH (bottom to left of center) a few feet below unknowing tourists!

 

SEARCHING for the ROAD LESS TRAVELED

The First (& Last) Mate is always on the lookout for coral heads and sandbars
 when entering an unfamiliar cut in the Bahamas

After two and a half weeks in the vicinity of Georgetown, Great Exuma, we had had enough of the cruiser crowds and the constant chatter on the VHF radio, so Exit Strategy headed northward along the chain. Our first stop was at CHILDREN'S BAY CAY, a small, privately owned island.  It was one of those places that you reach eventually after entering a cut (RAT CAY CUT) a few miles before it and then slowly work your vessel through channels that are just deep enough.  As I mentioned before, a major challenge here in the Bahamas has been the shallow depths for our 6'10' draft. The tide changes four times daily and the depth also varies with season. During this visit, the tide difference averages about three feet.  It took about forty minutes to get to Children's Bay Cay and then we anchored with about three and a half feet under our keel.

We anticipated a quiet few days here, but within a half hour a parade of daytripper powerboats began to whizz by us and then return in the opposite direction until nearly dusk.

Notice how the changing tides result in mushroom shaped rocks.  At high tide this is not apparent.

WINDSOCK CAY was a short distance to the west of where Exit Strategy was anchored.  The guidebooks reported, "There is good snorkeling and spearfishing around Windsock Cay." Intrigued by that description, we dinghied over one afternoon. There was a small warm beach there, but it was disappointing to find no obvious areas to snorkel or spearfish.  We considered snorkeling out a ways from the cay, but that would have put us in the path of the daytripper highway.

Windsock Cay looked nice, but was nothing like the guide described.

A couple of days later, we left Children's Bay Cay and retraced our path back out of the cut to resume our exploration of the Exumas.  ADDERLY CUT gave us access to our next recommended uncrowded spot at LEAF CAY.  Lee Stocking Island (different from STOCKING ISLAND near Georgetown) can also be accessed from this cut and was described as being "as popular a stop as Georgetown." So we carefully maneuvered away from Lee Stocking Island and worked our way around a huge shoal to anchor at Leaf Cay, "a peaceful spot near a perfect beach."

However, as we dropped anchor at Leaf Cay, the loud buzz of an engine approached and rattled Exit Strategy with its huge wake. The powerboat slowed and turned toward Leaf Cay just around the point.  We recognized the boat as one of the daytrippers that had inadvertently antagonized us in recent days.  Ah-HA!  Now we knew where they all were going!  

M-m-m- bet he'd make a fine stew!

The next day, we took a ride around the point and discovered that "perfect beach" for ourselves.  About a dozen iguanas lumbered to the shore to welcome us.  I could have caught one easily.  We observed later that the daytrippers bring veggie scraps for the iguanas, so they are quite used to humans. They are called "pink" iguanas because of their coloration.

As annoying as the tour boat traffic was, we could not leave the area without exploring NORMAN'S POND CAY, nor could we deny the tour operators their living.  Norman's Pond Cay was literally a stone's throw across the daytripper highway. Many years ago, it served as a salt producing center, but now only a few ruins are left.  We walked along the rugged western coast and found an exquisite tide pool that led to a cave.   

Our private pool on the Northwest coast of Normans Pond.

Although, our time on board Exit Strategy was sometimes exasperating due to the tour boats, our time off the vessel in these locations was invigorating and certainly memorable.

Sunset over Normand's Pond Cay.

EXODUS . . . MOVIN' ALL DE PEOPLE

The 25+ knot winds brought a big surf.

Throngs of boaters registered their intent to leave Georgetown this morning on the daily net and afterward many sails breezed out of the bay.  What drives this exodus?  A long awaited change in the weather!  We've learned that many boats from the USA and Canada are only here from January-early March, so it was time for them to head back. To avoid the crowd,  we'll most likely head out tomorrow and slowly hop northward to explore more of the Exumas, as we plan to be here for a few more months.

Two weeks ago, a pleasant sailing wind blew us into Elizabeth Harbor and we dropped the hook off of Elizabeth Island in the first uncrowded anchorage.  Then the weather conditions calmed considerably. From there we could comfortably dinghy approximately two miles across the bay to Georgetown to clear in and get supplies.

Unbeknownst to us, the annual Cruisers' Regatta was scheduled during our first week in Georgetown.  From our chosen spot, we were also able to easily venture the mile and a half to Volleyball Beach and Chat 'n Chill Grill on Stocking Island where most of the festivities took place.

Rick and Marty climbing up one of the trails on Stocking Island. 

My brother Marty and his buddy Rick joined us on Exit Strategy for the past week, arriving just as the high winds began. We managed to have a good time despite the fact that the winds and seas prevented us (and most others) from leaving the bay.  However, we took the challenge in hand and were able to touch on five different islands by dinghy or rental car. The following photos offer a weak (not a typo) glimpse of our time with Marty and Rick.

Marty and Dan did deep maintenance on our heaviest fishing reel (and no parts were left over afterward). 

One of the beaches on the Atlantic side of Stocking Island.

 

We were invited to take a ride on a racing trimaran and sadly it was dismasted
when Captain Tom attempted the first tack!  No one was hurt badly...even though
the boom bounced on my head a couple of times and then pushed Dan's sunglasses
into his nose leaving a small gash.

The toughest part was recovering the sails from the fallen rigging,
but many hands made the job somewhat easier.

This elderly gent really put on a show when the band began jamming at the Music Fest.

Passage to the BAHAMAS: The LAST Leg

According to our plan, this was to be the third leg of four that would get us to Georgetown in the Exumas.  We were pacing ourselves to be able to rest at anchor every other night.  Our next planned stop would be Clarence Town, Long Island-Bahamas.

Up...

We set out early from Mayaguana and enjoyed fair winds and another comfortable, fast sail for the first 14 hours. In the late afternoon, we even captured a few shots of a lone humpback whale doing backflips.  After dinner, the ride continued to be so smooth that we watched the movie THUNDERBALL (James Bond flick partly filmed in the Bahamas) in anticipation of visiting the famed grotto located in the northern portion of the Exumas.

UP...

Shortly after I went below to sleep and left Dan on watch, the wind and waves came on strong.  To reduce distractions, I use earplugs on passages when off night watch duty.  All of a sudden, I heard the commotion of sails being reefed and felt the boat rocking hard.  It sounded and felt scary enough that I instantly suited up in my foul weather gear and PFD and climbed back into the cockpit.  We trimmed the sails a bit more and things began to feel better.  So I retired to my bunk once more.

...and AWAY!

Three hours later, it was my turn at watch.  Dan said the wind had shifted and caused us to be off course a bit. The waves were also causing Exit Strategy to veer away from our intended waypoint.  At this juncture, we made the decision to continue on toward Georgetown instead of Clarence Town because we would have arrived in Clarence Town three hours before daylight.

My task was quite clear- try to keep the boat from losing more ground. However, three hours later when Dan got up to take his second watch of the night (our routine- I take one, he gets two) we had indeed lost a few more degrees on our heading.  Now we couldn't be sure that we would make it to Georgetown in daylight!

A thorough examination of the charts ensued and resulted in selecting an alternate anchorage on the northwest coast of Long Island that we could enter in daylight if necessary. To our delight, when we rounded the northern tip of Long Island, it put us in a more favorable point of sail.  Thankfully, we arrived by mid afternoon and were able to make our way safely into our second coral head strewn bay of the Bahamas, namely Elizabeth Harbor at Georgetown in the Exumas!